Yali walked up to Zhou Yang. Rather than disturb him, she tied up her hair and began helping prepare some ingredients.
"Let me help with some of it too."
Zhou Yang was slightly surprised, but his hands never stopped. After all, it was hardly a big deal.
Working together, the two quickly finished making breakfast.
"Zhou Yang, you really are impressive, taking care of yourself at such a young age."
Yali spoke meaningfully, her face radiant with smiles and her mood especially bright. Familiar flavors, familiar dishes, a familiar figure-they overlapped more and more with the scenes in her memory.
"Judging by your cooking, you must have studied it quite thoroughly."
"You're too kind. I figured it out while living on my own."
At his words, Yali's smile grew even wider.
As they chatted, they also worked together with an inexplicable harmony. One chopped vegetables while the other stir-fried; one arranged the plates while the other carried out the dishes, as though they had already done this countless times. A hand extended, a brief word, and they seemed to know what the other needed, passing over soy sauce, salt, or vinegar.
"It looks like we get along quite well."
"Senior Yali, stop teasing me."
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Na'er finally emerged from her room. The moment she stepped out, her nose twitched as though she had caught the scent of some peerless delicacy, and her eyes lit up.
"There's something delicious!"
When she approached the dining table, she saw an exceptionally sumptuous, delicious breakfast laid out on it.
Seeing the table full of food, Na'er excitedly sat down and hurried to reach for her chopsticks. But the moment she reached out, Yali stopped her and told her who had made this breakfast.
Na'er was astonished. She had never expected it to come from someone she had only met yesterday, someone she had known for less than a few days.
She could not help wondering whether this breakfast was a strong facade with nothing beneath it. But after taking her first bite, she decisively severed ties with the person she had been a few seconds earlier.
Who's slandering my great Big Brother Zhou Yang?
With just that first bite, Na'er felt utterly conquered. This was a flavor she had never tasted before!
The congee was soft, fragrant, and sweet, the side dishes refreshing and delicious, and the fried eggs crisp outside and tender within. Every dish was delicious to the extreme. Simple ingredients had been brought to their fullest potential, giving her an overflowing sense of satisfaction and happiness.
Watching her wolf down the food, Zhou Yang gave an easy smile. She looked exactly like that girl Tang Wulin, and he could not help feeling a little wistful.
All he could say was that the dragon buff was far too powerful. Neither Na'er nor Tang Wulin, nor even the fused Gu Yue Na, had escaped this terrifying "curse." Each had a bigger appetite than the last.
But their reactions were also enough to prove his cooking skills.
Watching Na'er eat so greedily, Zhou Yang felt his own appetite soar. All he could say was that mukbangs existed for a reason.
After breakfast, Yali began chatting with Zhou Yang about his Spirit Soul.
"Zhou Yang, you're at rank thirty now. Are you planning to acquire a second Spirit Soul, if I remember correctly?"
"Yes, that is what I'm planning."
"I see. Then I have a suggestion, though I don't know whether you'd be willing to accept it."
"Rather than acquiring a second Spirit Soul, I would actually recommend Spirit Ascension."
"Spirit Ascension?" Zhou Yang asked in confusion.
Naturally, he knew the term. After all, in Douluo III's cultivation system, the number of Spirit Souls a person could possess was tied to their spiritual power.
In other words, the greater the age of the Spirit Soul you absorbed, the more Soul Rings it provided, and the fewer Spirit Souls you needed to absorb. The mind could not bear the burden of too many Spirit Souls, either.
Spirit Souls could undergo Spirit Ascension using the spiritual power of soul beasts within the Spirit Ascension Platform. Once defeated, the soul beasts would produce spiritual power for Soul Masters to absorb, and their Spirit Souls could use the platform's spiritual power to increase their age.
It was a novel approach.
But at this point, someone was bound to say, "Old Zhou, Old Zhou, why add more Spirit Souls at all? Why not just absorb one and raise its age as high as possible?"
But...
Setting aside how far a Spirit Soul's age could be increased, the cost of the Spirit Ascension Platform alone was astronomical.
A single intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform entry cost around 1.3 million. Never mind that buying one required connections in the first place. Without that sort of backing, you might never even hear about it.
That was precisely why, despite already having financial freedom in his daily life and even being able to splurge on that top-quality Spirit Soul, Zhou Yang had never bought any of these.
"Spirit Ascension can help you increase your Spirit Soul's age..."
For this reason, Yali even took the time to explain what Spirit Ascension was and what the Spirit Ascension Platform was.
From what Yali said, she seemed to be planning to take him to the Spirit Ascension Platform for Spirit Ascension.
"What do you mean, Senior Yali?"
"If you're willing to trust me, I can make your Spirit Soul stronger."
Feeling the sincerity conveyed directly through Yali's gaze, Zhou Yang nodded and said with a smile, "Thank you. Sorry for the trouble, Senior Yali."
He agreed.
After all, he was also very curious about just what the Spirit Pagoda's Spirit Ascension Platform was like.
Although he did not need to absorb Spirit Souls or Soul Rings, he usually used Dragreder as a disguise when outside to avoid trouble. He had originally planned to have Darkwing Bat pose as his second Spirit Soul, but now it seemed that would have to wait.
Zhou Yang sat on the sofa watching the news. Its plush, soft comfort made his whole body seem to melt into it. The conditions here were simply too good; even he was especially fond of them.
I'll have to get a set like this for home someday.
To enjoy a leisurely, comfortable life of slacking off, Zhou Yang silently made up his mind.
But just as he looked away from the soul-guided player, his entire body instinctively tensed.
Outside the window, a fellow with a large red horn and blue compound eyes was looking at him from a bizarre angle. OYO.
Mommy, that scared me to death.
This bastard really did follow me all the way here.
Knowing he could not avoid it, Zhou Yang did not struggle much. He gave Yali an excuse and left the courtyard.
As soon as he stepped outside, Zhou Yang saw Hyper Kabuto standing ramrod straight before him. Hyper Kabuto looked in a certain direction, then vanished the next instant.
Sensing the guidance, Zhou Yang immediately understood that he was supposed to follow.
Without hesitation, he charged straight in that direction.
As a Soul Master, he did have an enhanced physique. Even without transforming, Zhou Yang's physical abilities were by no means poor, and he ran at an astonishing speed.
But as he ran, a crimson rhinoceros beetle flew up beside him, making cheerful sounds. It was Kabuto's Kabuto Zecter.
"I see you've realized it too. Our final trial before our debut is here."
"Once this fight is over, I can officially make my debut."
Zhou Yang grabbed it and slotted it into his belt, completing his transformation.
With a light wave of his right hand, a dazzling crimson motorcycle instantly drove out onto the empty ground beside him. It was Kabuto's exclusive ride-the Extender.
The motorcycle had an elegant design and flowing lines, its body gleaming with a metallic sheen that complemented his armor perfectly.
He swung himself onto it and twisted the throttle. The engine's roar echoed across the open plain.
Soon, he reached a small grove on a hill out back. But rather than ease off the throttle, Zhou Yang accelerated straight toward it.
A Rider's armor and systems were not just for show. A mere grove could not hinder him at all; he did not even need to have the Extender Cast Off along with him.
With the Extender's exceptional mobility combined with Kabuto's heavy Masked Form, Zhou Yang was practically a humanoid bulldozer. He charged straight into the depths of the woods, smashing his way forward and tearing aside weeds and shrubs that blocked his path. Branches and leaves flew everywhere as he forced a passage through the dense forest.
Before long, he passed through the woods and reached a lakeshore.